Brakes

[Full Spectrum]

I have been looking into brakes myself as my fronts are toast.
270mm slotted DBA with some type of pad i forgot for $180? front.

 

[Immortality]

go with the hopper stoppers upgrade, it's based on the VT brakes, 330mm, twinspot calipers, DBA rotors etc. complete package from $1200. i beleive they have cheaper 300mm options from around the $740 mark and you can get all sorts of otherstuff like braided lines etc too. i wouldn't bother with the V8 VN/VP setup. i tried it on my VH V8 andi can still cook them in a matter of minutes. they are better then the stock ones but not a huge updrade. the squeeling has a lot to do with brake pad material, since the manufactures have gone away from aspestos based pads

checkout this site

www.hoppers.com.au

you should definitly upgrade your master cylinder to the 1" model(stock is 15/16" i believe) you should be able to get from repco as the V8 model had the 1" master cylinder and it's a bolt on job, no mods needed. the braided lines will give a firmer pedal feel

 

[markovr]

The type of disc wont stop or start the discs squeal.Its probably the pads that do this and their reaction of the material in them to the disc they are running against.I thought all ea falcons had this as standard equipment but the cars so bad its the least of their worries.Steel pads were notorious for this in the past but I think they are on top of it now.
Is fe2 pads the same as police pads?...cause Ive tried them and they dust so bad.I use qfm but thats my opinion and they dont squeal and dust much but everyone has their personal preferences....most pads these days wear the disc in time but thats over a three or four years when the pads need replacing that you need to machine them and that only amounts to an extra 30 or 40 bucks.
Another thing that might tend to sway you towards a vt/x disc........ thickness not to mention pad size ...vn/p/r/s 22mm if they havent been machined ....vts 28mm...a fair bit more steel.

 

[AirStrike]

Im slowly piecing together the brake upgrade for the SS.
I have:
*VT master cylinder
*VS resivour
*R33 GTS-t 4 piston calipers
*EBC red stuff pads
I then need:
*VT booster (mark the VT master doesnt mate up to the VZ booster)
*VT HSV 330mm rotors
*Caliper brakets (just need to order off tony)
*Adaptor hubs (just need to order off tony)
*Braided lines (just need to order off tony).
So should be good when done.

I have the VT setup with slotted rotors and braided lines on my VR and it brakes quite well for a setup that was under $300, but make sure you have a 1" master at a very minimum.

AirStrike :air:

 

[pandaman]

hmm good point - I take it you have a set, greenfoam . . . what are they like? Are there any complications with them, do they have a habit of squealing alot, and what kind of prices are we looking at?

Also, how does the rotor size compare with VT, and/or with standard V6? (I checked out redbook.com.au but they don't have rotor sizes listed . . .)

Hmm, from memory the front VN V8 brakes are 289mm*28mm discs, they run single piston calipers with cooling fins. The VT packages like the ones on Ebay are 296mm*28mm discs with twin piston calipers. I'm seriously considering the VT package for some point in the future, the wags pulls up ok, but doesn't throw me into the seatbelt as hard as I'd like. I'll check those disc sizes when I get home. (Uni library has amateur archaeological reports from 1947 but not commodore manuals from the 90's, how's that for some f'd up priorities?)

 

[Immortality]

just bought a G-tech pro so i'lldo some tests on the braking times/distances with it, maybe i'll do it 10 times etc to allow for driver error etc, then i might fit the VN V8 brakes i have with a 1" master cylinder and do it all over again and see if it makes any difference i suspect that it will only pull the car up marginally quicker if at all than standard but it'll probably be more resistant to fade over a number of stops. Street Machine mag did this test some time ago on a(dear i say) ford fitted with there 300mm upgrade, it made a difference in the stopping distance but really made a big difference in the back to back stops in terms of fade and brake pedal feel etc

 

[savage1987]

(Uni library has amateur archaeological reports from 1947 but not commodore manuals from the 90's, how's that for some f'd up priorities?)

:rofl:

Thanks for the info guys.

I'm prone to the odd bit of 'spirited' driving, so brake fade is a massive issue for me with my stock setup . . . Unfortunately it seems like I will have to upgrade to 15" rims at least . . . I'll start looking around.

At the moment I think I'll go with DBA's slotted VT front rotors, standard VT rear rotors, VT calipers all round, and a 1" master cylinder from the VN V8.

Anything I've forgotten? I don't really understand the components of the braking system. . . so feel free to tell me anything else I might need - for example, how does reservoir size affect the system, and will I need to upgrade it?

Thanks again guys, keep it coming!
Sam

 

[pandaman]

:rofl:

Thanks for the info guys.

I'm prone to the odd bit of 'spirited' driving, so brake fade is a massive issue for me with my stock setup . . . Unfortunately it seems like I will have to upgrade to 15" rims at least . . . I'll start looking around.

At the moment I think I'll go with DBA's slotted VT front rotors, standard VT rear rotors, VT calipers all round, and a 1" master cylinder from the VN V8.

Anything I've forgotten? I don't really understand the components of the braking system. . . so feel free to tell me anything else I might need - for example, how does reservoir size affect the system, and will I need to upgrade it?

Thanks again guys, keep it coming!
Sam

Some people do reccomend the use of a VT style "quickfill" reservoir but I think it requires a fair bit of modification for not much benefit. Another idea is good quality braided brake lines, expensive but most likely worth it.

 

[savage1987]

OK. The reservoir is off the list in order to save costs . . . my back rotors are scored to sh!t and I want to get this upgrade going as soon as I can . . .

Is there any way I can do this in stages, or should I just save up and do the whole lot in one go?

 

[SlowVac]

VT brakes can be used on the 1' master cylinder which can fit the standard booster on the car. The double diaphram booster would be used if the car has a cam (no vaccum on idle). I've had the VT conversion for 4years and it better then the standard brakes.
If you do not have the money get the V8 brakes which are fitted on the car but ideally you would need the 1' master cylinder.
For discs I would rather use the slotted disc then the x-drilled slot version as it can crack if the car would be on the track. At the moment I've just fitted DBA x-drill slot (bought them cheap years ago) and EBC greenstuff all round and so far it has not let me down also not as dusty as bendix ultimate.

Ideally go in a car with the VT brake conversion & V8 brake then make a decision from there...